Improvement in revolving fire-arms



UNTTED STATES PATENT EETCE.,

O. EDWARD SNEIDER, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

IMPROVEMENT IN REVOLVING FIRE-ARMS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 341,703, dated March 18, 18672.

To all whom it may cofltcern:

Be it known that LC EDWARD SNE1DER,of the city of Baltimore, in the county of Baltimore and State ot' Maryland, have invented a new and useful improvement in that Class of Fire-Arms known as Revolversg7 and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part ot' this specitication, in which- Figure 1 is a side view ot' a pistol with my improvements. Fig. 2 is a top view ot the same. Fig. 3 exhibits a central longitudinal section ofthe same.

Similar letters ot' reference indicate corresponding parts iu the several igures.

My invention consists in the employment, in arevolver, ot' two many-chambered cylinders or series ot revolving chambers arranged breech to breech upon the same axis-pin, so that when all the chambers in one of them have been discharged their position can be reversed to enable the chambers in the other one to be discharged.

It also consists in a hammer of peculiar con` struction applied to operate in connection with such cylinders.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use myinvention, lwill proceed to describe its construction and operation.

rlhe fratrie A, which connects the barrel B with the stock C, and which contains the two many-chambered cylinders D D, is of substan tially similar form to that of revolvers having but one cylinder, except that it is made sutticiently longer to contain thc two cylinders. To provide for the removal ot' the cylinders and theiraXis-pin E,the said frame is made to open at the t'ront upper corner, in the manner illustrated by dotted outline in Fig. l, by a movement on a hinge, a, at its front lower corner, and to secure the said frame in a closed condition with the'cyliuders and axis-pin in place it is tted at its place of opening with a locking-pin, c, passing through the cheeks e e ot' a mortise in the upper part and through a tenon, d, inthe front part of the frame. The portieri ofthe said pin cwhich passes through the mortise-cheek is ot' round i'orm,but the portion which passes through the tenon is halt'- round, as shown in section in Fig. 3, and the circular hole made inthe tenon for the reception of the said pin has an opening,t', o i'a width equal to half the diameter of the said hoie cut from it to the end ofthe tenon, the said opening-being below the center ot' the hole, as shown in the last-mentioned figure. The pin c is furnished at one end with a short lever, f, by which it can be turned from the position shown in Fig. 3, in which its half-round portion is above the opening i and locks the frame in a closed condition, to the position in which said portion is opposite to the opening i'. and the frame is unlocked, and vice versa. lower position of the lever (shown in Fig. l in bold outline) corresponds with the position of the pin, (shown in Fig. 3,)and the upper position of the said lever (shown in dotted outline in Fig. 1) represents the position to which the lever is brought to unlock the fraaie.

The cylinders D D are bored through for the reception of the axis-pin, and have their sev eral chambers, l Z, bored right through them. Each has at its breech end a hub, b, which is concentric with its axis, and has in the oppo site end a pin-hole for the reception of a pin,

h, which projects f 'rom the face of the recoilpin or ratchet-pin j.

The axis-pin E consists of a straightpin having a broad collar,g, at the middle of its length, and having a small key-like protuberance, a, on each side of the said collar to enter a notch in the breech end of one of the cylinders, D D, which,being placed upon the axis-piu upon opposite sides ot' the collar g, with their breech ends facing each other, are connected by the said protuberances in such a manner that rotary motion imparted to one of them from the ratchet-pinj will beimparted through the axispin to the other one. The axis-pin is long enough to protrude through both cylinders when they are close up to the collar g, and when the pin and cylinders are in place one ot' the protruding ends is received in a hole in the center ot' the ratchet-pin j and the other in a bearing in the front part of the frame. The ratchet-pin may have rotary motion imparted to it in the manner com mon to that employed for producing the rotary motion of the cylinders of other revolvers.

The chambers ofthe cylinders arc loaded at their breech ends with metallic cartridges m m, the flan ges of which remain outside ot' the chambers between the cylinders and the collar g,

which serves to keep them in their places in f' said slot being beveled inward atits frontend. the cylinders. The cartridges are put iny the as shown at s in Fig. 3, and the under side of chambers before the cylinders are placed on and front portion ot` the upper side ofthe said y the breech-pin. The collargmust not be large head are lso formed that the hammer in passenough to completely cover the cartridges, as ing forward and backwark will be guided by portions of them must be left exposed for bethe pin r and bevel s in such manner as to ing struck by the hammer, which is required clear the rear cylinder and the collar g ol' the to reach over the rearmost cylinder to strike I axis-pin, but to strike the flanges of the carthe cartridges in the front one. As both cyltridges contained in the forward cylinder.

inders are alike and both ends of the axis-pin It may be practicable to have the two cylalike, it does not matter, when both cylinders inders made of one piece of metal, or, in other are loaded, which cylinder is placed in front Words, to use two series of chambers in oppo-V next the barrel and which next the ratchet-piu l site ends of a cylinder, and to make the cyland lock. 'lhe firing and repetition ot'the tire inders with journals instead of with an indeare leffected in the same manner as with any l pendent axis-pin, and I consider such modifiother revolver, until all the charges in the front cations as embraced in my invention. cylinder have been used, and the 'rame A is What I claim as my invention, andA desire then opened, the two cylinders and thc axis. to secure by Letters Patent, s?-

pin taken out together and put back again in l. The employment, in a revolver, ot' two areversed position7 and the frame closed again, many-chambered cylinders or series of revolvall ot' which can be done Very quickly, and all ing chambers,arranged breech to breech upon is then ready f'or using the charges ofthe secthe same axis-pin,substantially as and for the ond cylinder. purpose herein described.

The hammer F G, which I employ in con- 2. The combination of the guides q r s with nection with this system of cylinders, has its a pivoted hammer-head, F, employed in c011- head F made in a separate piece from the nection Witha revolving chambered cylinder, shanli'Grv and hinged or pivoted thereto, as in the manner and for the purposes shown shownatp in Figs. l and 3. rlhe head F, so i and explained. constructed and applied, works undera small bridge-piece, q, on the back part ofthe top ot` the frame A, over a ixed guide-pin, r, arranged under the said bridge, and through a slot in the top of the said frame, the frontpart of the l C. EDVARD SNEIDER.-

Witnesses:

J. D. MORITZ, J. PoUL'rNEY.A 

